Lifting and binding device

ABSTRACT

A continuous tape is placed around two or more packages or package piles to extend upward between the packages in the form of a loop which may be provided with an eye link threaded thereon for lifting th packages. In order to prevent the loop from falling between the packages the portion of the tape resting on the top surface of the piles is threaded through the loop or the eye link.

United States Patent 1 Back [ June 19, 1973 LIFTING AND BINDING DEVICE [75] Inventor: Karl Johan Back, Helsinki, Finland [73] Assignee: 0y Cyklop AB, Helsinki, Finland [22] Filed: May 11, 1971 [2l] Appl. No.: 142,244

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 12, 1970 Finland 1327/70 52 U.S. Cl.

294/74, 206/65 B B66c l/18 Field of Search 24/16, 20, 27, 115,

[561 References Cited I f UNITED STATES PATENTS,

3,466,080 9/1969 Norton 294/74 3,524,543 8/1970 Bundy et al 206/65 2,106,276 l/l938 Heineman 206/65 B 3,224,185 l2/l965 Grim et a] 59/86 Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examinep-Johnny D. Cherry A tt0rney- Larimer P. Brooks, Charles G. Mueller, Lorimer P. Brooks et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A continuous tape is placed around two or more packages or package piles to extend upward between the packages in the form of a loop which may be provided with an eye link threaded thereon for lifting th packages. In order to prevent the loop from falling between the packages the portion of the tape resting on the top surface of the piles is threaded through the loop or the eye link.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures PAIEIIIEBMI SIB Fig. 3

Fig. 2

LIFTING AND BINDING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to the field of holding together and lifting objects in bulk by means of continuous surrounding tape.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is well known in the art to group, for instance, wood pulp bales into so-called big bales by superposing four bales and by placing two such piles side by side to be then grouped into a big package by encircling said eight bales with a steel tape which is then fastened with a tape fastening means. To facilitate the loading of such a big package, i.a. a special lifting hook has been developed which can be passed between the tape and the pulp bales. Such threading is, however, cumbersome since the tape is tightened around the pulp bales and may even to some extent sink into the bales. To avoid this difficulty there has been developed a type of fastener in which a tape bow, extending above the upper side of the big bale or package is by means of tape fasteners attached to the actual binding tape, to which tape bow specially constructed lifting elements of lifting machines can be attached. A drawback of this arrangement is that it requires the utilization of specially constructed lifting elements, and further the consumption of tape material is increased in comparison with the first mentioned case.

Further is has been proposed to use a fastener bent at an angle of 90 and having at the tip of the angle formed at its edge portions two eye lugs which will remain above the tape passing between them and through which the books of the lifting element readily can be passed. This construction, however, has the drawback that it is cumbersome to handle and is not adaptable for automatic production of the big packages.

Also prior known is a lifting element provided at each side of the big package and consisting of an eye link having an aperture with a curved upper portion and a horizontal lower portion. The tape is at each side provided with opposite cuts the width of which longitudinally of the tape is somewhat greater than the thickness of the eye link, and their depth transversally of the band is of such magnitude that the portion of the tape remaining therebetween is a little less wide than the horizontal diameter of the link aperture, so that the eye link can be threaded on the tape.

Another prior known lifting device uses a fastening element the length of which, when fastened, is greater than the circumference of the big package, so that the portion of the fastening element portion exceeding the circumference can be extended between the package piles to form a loop fo lifting the big package. With such an arrangement the loop, however, easily falls between the package piles.

This invention provides a combined lifting and bind ing device which is simple in construction, cheap and durable, and in which the loop cannot slip between the package piles during the time between lifts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention the tape is threaded through the loop or through the eye link in order to support the loop and prevent-it from falling between the adjacent groups of packages.

The simplest embodiment of the lifting and binding device according to the invention has a binding element, such as a wire, rope or a steel tape encircling two adjacent packages or package piles and having the opposite ends of the binding element attached to each other, for instance, by means of a tape fastener, to form a big package, the length of the binding element being greater than that of the grouped circumferences of the packages or the package piles, so that the binding element portion exceeding the length of the circumferences can from below be extended between the pack ages or the package piles to form a downwardly open loop, and the portion of said loop exceeding the length of the circumferences of the packages or the package piles can be pulled between the packages or the package piles to the upper side of the big package where it as such will form the lifting loop for the big package. The straight portion of the binding element resting against the upper side of the big package is hereat threaded through said loop to give support to the same and prevent it from falling between the two packages or package piles. The package piles may, however, alternatively be pressed together by means of a separate binding element situated in a vertical plane, so preventing the loop from falling between the packages or the package piles, or the binding element may alternatively be encircled an extra turn around the big package.

In the device according to the invention the ends of the binding element to be attached to each other are preferably placed at the upper side of the big package, thus minimizing the stress thereon caused by the lifting. It has been found that the tensile stress on the binding element when lifting the big package is reduced by about 15 per cent. at the edges of the packages or the package piles over which the binding element is bent. This can be explained by the great friction occuring at these points and effectively preventing the binding element from sliding or stretching. By placing the attachment point of the binding element ends at the upper side of the big package, the maximum amount of edges will be situated between the said attachment point and the lifting point, thus minimizingthe tensile stress on the attachment point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a particularly preferred embodiment of the lifting and binding device according to the invention, mounted in place, the forward end of the package piles shown slightly spaced to get a better view of the lifting and binding device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective detail view of the device according to FIG. 1, from above, the package piles adjacent each other ready to be lifted, and FIG. 3 shows a corresponding detail view to FIG. 2 of a more simple embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference numeral 1 refers to the two package piles such as bale piles, the one at the right hand side being shown schematically only. Reference numeral 2 refers to a special lifting hook which can be passed between the curved upper portion of a round iron lifting eye link 5 and the straight upper portion 7 of a steel tape 4 threaded through the eye link 5 for lifting the big package. The slippery upper side 7 of the steel tape 4 will effectively guide the lifting book 2 through the link 5.

The reference numeral 3 refers to individual bales piled side by side and on top of each other thus forming the bale pile 1. By means of the device according to the invention two such bale piles 1 can be grouped as a big package, and lifted. Instead of two bale piles 1 it is obviously also possible to lift several adjacent bale piles, or only two bales placed side by side.

As shown in FIG. 1 the steel tape 4 when mounted around the bale piles 1, is longer than the circumference of the big package but shorter than the sum of the circumferences of the bale piles, so that the portion of the steel tape 4 exceeding the length of the circumference can from below be placed between the bale piles l to form a downwardly open loop 6, the upper portion of which is threaded through a separate eye link 5 together with the straight upper portion 7 of the steel tape 4. The lifting force thus is applied in its entirety to the loop 6 and only partially to the straight upper portion 7 of the steel tape 4 at which the ends of the steel tape are attached together by means of a tape fastener 11. The great friction forces occurring at the bending points 8, 9 and 10 thus considerably reduce the tensile stress applied to the tape fasterner, which is particularly important when lifting very heavy loads and/or when very great security margins are required. The tape fastener 11 generally represents the weakest point of the lifting and binding device and thus determines the heaviest load that can be lifted by means of the device.

The round iron eye link 5 is curved at its upper portion but advantageously straight at its lower portion, and has an aperture slightly greater than the width of the steel tape 4. The link 5 extends only partially between the bale piles, so that its curved upper portion protrudes from the slit as clearly seen in FIG. 2. The eye link 5 is prevented from falling between the bale piles l, and supported by the straight upper reach of I the steel tape passed through said upper portion of the link.

The lifting and binding device according to the invention is useful even without any separate link 5, as the tape loop can as such be utilized as a lifting loop 6, as seen in FIG. 3. In this case the length of the steel tape 4 is greater than the sum of the circumferences of the bale piles, such that the portion 6 of the steel tape 4 exceeding the circumferences of the bale piles 1 extends to the upper side of the big package and forms a lifting loop for the hook 2. To prevent the lifting loop 6' from falling between the bale piles 1, these are advantageously pressed together by means of a separate tape, or the tape 4 is encircled an extra turn around the big package. The straight upper portion 7 of the steel tape 4 is threaded through the lifting loop 6' in order to support said loop and to prevent it from falling between the bale piles.

The tape 4 may consist of other material than steel, such as strong nylon etc. The tape may as well be substituted for by rope, such as wire rope etc., and the device according to the invention can be as well utilized for lifting other packages such as wooden boxes, instead of the wood pulp bales described.

The big package shown in FIG. 1 can be lifted, besides from the lifting eye link 5, additionally from the steel tape 4 resting against the upper side of the big package, at two points, at each side of the eye link, by providing two lifting hooks between the bale piles, at each side of the eye link 5 and pulling said lifting hooks into a spaced relationship between the upper side of the big package and the steel tape 4, preferably as far as to the opposite upper edges of the big package. Thus are provided three lifting points, among which the weight of the big package is distributed, so that one half of the total weight of the big package is applied to the eye link 5, while one fourth of the same is applied to each of the lifting hooks. The lifting hooks are in this case advantageously attached to the same lifting beam as the lifting link 5.

What is claimed is:

l. A lifting and binding device for holding together and lifting objects in bulk which are grouped together as a grouped plurality of packages, said device comprising a continuous flexible steel tape having a length exceeding the circumference of the grouped packages, said tape extending around the circumference of the grouped packages, the ends of said steel tape being joined by means of a tape fastener, and a portion of the tape having a length equal to that length by which the tape is longer than the circumference of the grouped packages extending upwardly between packages of the group as a downwardly opening loop, a top portion of said tape extending across the upper surfaces of the packages of the group, the uppermost part of said loop and said, top portion of said tape both extending through an eye link for lifting the packages, said eye link also serving to prevent said loop from falling between said packages, said eye link having a straight, flat bottom part for engaging said loop and a rounded upper portion for reception of lifting means. 

1. A lifting and binding device for holding together and lifting objects in bulk which are grouped together as a grouped plurality of packages, said device comprising a continuous flexible steel tape having a lengtH exceeding the circumference of the grouped packages, said tape extending around the circumference of the grouped packages, the ends of said steel tape being joined by means of a tape fastener, and a portion of the tape having a length equal to that length by which the tape is longer than the circumference of the grouped packages extending upwardly between packages of the group as a downwardly opening loop, a top portion of said tape extending across the upper surfaces of the packages of the group, the uppermost part of said loop and said top portion of said tape both extending through an eye link for lifting the packages, said eye link also serving to prevent said loop from falling between said packages, said eye link having a straight, flat bottom part for engaging said loop and a rounded upper portion for reception of lifting means. 